Stick to your values
On your path to success, you’re going to run into some tricky situations. You’ll have to make impossible choices. You may get blamed for someone else’s mistakes but no matter what complicated situation you’re thrown into you should always stay true to your values. This sounds easy but trusts us, it isn’t.
When competing against others in your field it’s tempting to lie and cheat your way to the top. You’re all chasing the same opportunities and you may have similar dreams. Isn’t it worth lying if it gets you ahead of the pack?
Most people don’t realize that even the smallest of lies can compromise how people see you and how you see yourself. Integrity is an element of success that’s often ignored, yet most successful people insist it plays a crucial role.
Having integrity means adhering to a set of personal values think of them as rules to live by whether they’re moral social or artistic your integrity should provide a framework for your actions and choices. In a way, your values are linked goals they essentially define the type of person you want to become. So let them guide your decisions don’t be worried about missing an opportunity because you weren’t mean or manipulative enough. No amount of money your opportunity is worth compromising the person you aim to be.
Using triggers
One of the hardest parts of being successful is organizing your busy life. When you start juggling different responsibilities things can slip through the cracks. That’s why successful people like Elon Musk, use something called a trigger to make sure they get everything done.
A trigger is basically any type of sound or visual stimulus that reminds you of what you’re supposed to be doing. This can be a notification on your phone an alarm on your watch or a physical calendar on the wall. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you know what it means. Triggers can serve a wide variety of purposes. First and foremost they motivate you by providing a concrete start time. By working every time your alarm goes off you’ll develop a lasting association. Your brain will feel like working whenever it encounters that specific trigger. This is a great strategy for chronic procrastinators. If you find yourself slacking offset an alarm for 15 minutes from now this gives your brain time to switch gears so that when the alarm goes off you’ll be ready to go.
Triggers also ensure you don’t spend too much time on one thing when you have dozens of items on your to-do list you can’t afford to spend hours perfecting every tiny detail. If you do you’ll never get anything done. In this situation use triggers to start and stop working. When under time constraints you might discover you’re more productive and efficient. Finally, triggers keep you from overworking. When chasing your dreams it often feels like you should be constantly productive but that isn’t mentally or physically healthy. Your sleep hobbies and friendships will suffer. If you’re constantly stressed about the work you didn’t finish. So use a trigger to end your workday. This tells you that it’s time to relax and recharge instead of letting your work overwhelm your life.
Reinvent routines
It’s no secret that establishing a routine is a great way to build motivation and discipline. Routines keep your brain feeling focused while improving your physical health. You’re probably thinking how can a routine change wouldn’t that defeat the purpose.
Well, tiny changes to your daily rituals will stimulate your brain in a new and exciting way. If you drive to work every morning take a different route if you go to the gym after work tries some new exercises, even drinking a different flavor protein shake can make a routine feel fresh while offering the same mental and physical benefits. So why is this important? One of the principal advantages of a routine is that it removes mental clutter. You don’t have to worry about when you’ll exercise or set goals because it’s all part of a daily ritual but sometimes routines become too automatic. If we’re not careful we start to forget why we’re doing it in the first place. For example, someone who wanted to lose weight might forget to push themselves at the gym. They stop improving because their routine has become comfortable and easy. Small changes will remind you why your rituals are important that way you challenge your body and brain to grow a little bit more every day.
Give it two weeks
Imagine you’re trying to paint for the first time, after buying all the supplies you sit down one afternoon and take a crack at it. Thinking how hard can it be, the answer pretty hard. Your painting doesn’t turn out at all like you wanted. Should you give up? does this mean you aren’t cut out to be an artist. When we look at the most successful people it’s hard to imagine them as a man sure is that anything but at some point they were as clueless as the rest of us. When they tried something new they had to start from the ground floor and work their way up but they made a habit of doing something most people don’t. When trying something new successful people spend a few weeks learning and experimenting. If they want to paint they tried different styles materials and subjects. If they want to write poetry they do research and get feedback from friends. This gives them the space to fully digest their new hobby. They have time to try fail and hopefully see little improvements.
Most people never branch out because they don’t make it past the first five minutes. They fail once and decide it’s not for them but more often than not it isn’t actually the subject they don’t like. They’re embarrassed about how bad they are at it. They don’t like the feeling of failure so they run away. Successful people know you’re supposed to be terrible no one expects you to master a new hobby on your first try so why do you. You might accidentally skip over your true passion because you’re too worried about messing up. Next time you want to try something new give yourself two pressure-free weeks. Once you’ve tried and failed at least a few times you can decide if you want to quit.
Combat negativity
While affirmations can inject a healthy dose of positivity into your morning. Many people have a hard time reaping the benefits. Phrases like I deserve the best do supply your conscious mind with confidence. However they failed to make an impact on the unconscious. Where most of your worst fears are hiding. Try this exercise next time you’re in front of the mirror, give yourself a compliment tell yourself that you’re attractive confident or successful. You might find yourself cringing after each because you unconsciously believe it isn’t true. No matter how many times you say it out loud that isn’t going to change.
You might spend years thinking you’re not talented when that isn’t the real problem at all. You can do this simple activity for a few minutes every morning. Slowly but surely you’ll start to unravel many of the unconscious fears that have been holding you back.
